


last summer

by merrope



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Angst, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2019-04-04 06:49:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14014572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merrope/pseuds/merrope
Summary: Regulus and James meet after a summer apart and talk about how their relationship ended.





	last summer

**Author's Note:**

> This work was inspired by the prompt “I’m sorry about last summer. You know, if I could do it over...” from this Tumblr blog: https://creativepromptsforwriting.tumblr.com/
> 
> In this AU, James is bisexual, but that isn’t mentioned so you don’t need to worry about it.

Looking in his empty fridge, Regulus sighs loudly _. It’ll have to be a takeaway then,_ he supposes. He phones the nearby Chinese and decides it’s quicker to go pick it up than wait for them to deliver it.

He puts his shoes and coat on and starts the relatively short walk to the Chinese only to realise it was snowing, however lightly. Regulus takes a moment to groan as he thinks how it will take far longer to go get his car (because it was parked miles away, practically) before pulling up his hood and continuing his walk.

He remembers when he and Sirius would play out in the snow, after their nannies had wrapped them up in jackets and scarves and hats so much that they looked more like marshmallows than boys. They had made snowmen, snow-women and their snow-children and snow-pets. Sirius has even managed to build a snow-castle and it’s city before their Rottweiler, Kreacher had come running outside and smashed it up.

God, Sirius hated Kreacher. The dog was prone to barking and biting everyone - well, except Regulus. Sad as it was, Kreacher was Regulus’ greatest friend and, after convincing his nannies and mother to let Kreacher sleep on his bed, they spent much of their time together. Regulus doesn’t think he’ll ever feel the amount of pain he felt upon hearing of the dog’s death again.

Shaking away the thought, Regulus keeps walking. Soon enough he gets to the Chinese and smiles when he steps out of the cold and into the warmth of the restaurant. He pulls down his hood and shakes the snow that somehow managed to get to his hair.

A worker comes up to him. “Did you order by phone?” Regulus nods and she continues, “Name, please?”

“Regulus Black.”

She nods, looking at some notepad. “Alright, you ordered the sweet and sour chicken, chow mein with beef but no vegetables and two can of coke, yes?”

Regulus confirms it with a nod and she gives him a quick smile and tells him his meal will be ready in five minutes before moving on to the next customer. He sits down in one of the waiting chairs and takes out his phone to find there is a message from his mother, reminding him that it was father’s birthday soon and they were throwing him a dinner party - as if father liked interacting with other people, especially his family.

He is just minding his own business when he hears the worker’s voice say; “What did you order Mr James Potter?”

Regulus’ head practically flies to the side and looks up to find none other than James bloody Potter standing there with snow in his messy hair, his glasses slightly askew. James says his order and the worker writes it down before going to the kitchens.

“James?” He asks before he can think to stop himself.

The man turns around and his hazel eyes widen upon seeing Regulus. “Reg? Woah, I didn’t notice you,” he says awkwardly. Regulus wonders if James ever thinks of the time they spent together. Or of how it ended. Regulus thinks of the latter more often.

“Yeah,” Regulus says without much feeling. “It’s, uh, been awhile.” 13 months, actually. 13 months ago Regulus had thought he and James could maybe be together forever, silly as it sounds. Even back then he knew they weren’t the Real Deal but it still hurt when James just ended whatever it was they had.

“Look, Regulus, I’m sorry about last summer. You know, if I could do it over...” Janes gestured vaguely at nothing and everything.

Regulus shakes his head. “Don’t say anything you’ll regret, James -“

The older boy also shakes his head but he looks pained. “No, Reg, I don’t regret what we had last summer -“

“James, while that might be true things are different now, right? You have a wife and a son. Isn’t his name Harry?” Regulus asks, hoping to change he subject.

A smile brightens James’ face at the mention of his son. “Harry, yeah. He’s two months old now. And Lily... I do love her, Reg.”

“You told me last summer,” Regulus answers with bite, but then he sees James’ face. “Look, we both knew last summer wasn’t going to last forever. Just, you ended it so suddenly and, yeah, it did kind of hurt, if I’m being honest.”

Regulus almost wished he could have kept his pain to himself because James always looks so happy that when he looks sad, as he does now, he looks impossibly sad.

“I don’t think Sirius ever told you but, uh, he punched me after he found out that I ended it so... suddenly,” James tells him, a slight grin on his face.

Regulus doesn’t even care how silly he looks with his mouth wide open. “That prick. He needs to learn to mind his own bloody business.” James laughs, a sound Regulus has yet to forget.

“Well, it was kind of his business, wasn’t it? In his best mate and your his brother. Did kind of hurt though,” James says with much amusement.

Though Regulus absolutely thinks Sirius is nosy beyond belief - one of the very few qualities he shared with mother, though neither would admit it - but he did note to thank his brother for that. _Sirius could be alright,_ Regulus supposed.

“Well, I kind of wanted to punch you a little when you told me you were leaving me. And then I heard a month later you were marrying Lily,” Regulus says before he can stop himself. “James, I didn’t mean -“

“No, you did. And you absolutely deserve to,” James tells him, “I mean, I told you Lily and I were on a break and thinking of getting back together but to propose a month later is, god, what a dick move.”

Regulus laughs and James does too. “It’s not as if we went that far anyway, of course, but I was surprised. Sorry about not coming to your wedding, it’s just, you know... it’d be awkward, I think.”

“Probably,” James agrees as the female worker calls on Regulus to collect his food. “Hey, Reg, Sirius is coming around to our house for dinner next Saturday. Lily knows we were - well, close. She’s cool with it - as long as I don’t have an affair with you - and would love to get to know you. So, do you want to come next week?”

After laughing momentarily at the thought of James and he having an affair, Regulus looks at James, managing a small smile. “I’ll text Sirius about it but, yeah, I’ll try and come by. I’ve got to, you know, get my dinner...”

James nods. “I’ll tell Lily and Sirius then. Don’t let your food get cold.”

Smiling, Regulus says his goodbyes. He gets his food and James nods to him as he goes out the door. The snow isn’t so bad after all, he thinks, not bothering to put his hood up.

As soon as he gets home, the first thing he does is text Sirius to confirm he will indeed come to the Potters’ next week.


End file.
